Filipino fighter pilots, flying obsolete, slow and
underarmed Boeing P-26 "Peashooters" pursuit planes, were the first
Allied pilots to score against the vaunted Japanese pilots during the first
days of World War II in Southeast Asia .
These pilots, headed by then Capt. Jesus Villamor of the 6th
Pursuit Squadron, Philippine Army Air Corps (forerunner of the Philippine Air
Force), demonstrated that man-for-man, despite inferior equipment, Filipino
fighter pilots are among the best in the world.
Villamor's gallant stand against the technologically and
numerical superior Japanese air force will be celebrating its 74th year
anniversary on Dec. 10.
During that day, Villamor, together with Lt. Geronimo Aclan,
Lt. Godofredo Juliano, Lt. Jose Gozar, Lt. Manuel Conde, and Lt. Antonio
Mondigo, were scrambled from their base in Batangas Field, Batangas to
intercept a huge Japanese aircraft formation flying over Zablan Field, Quezon City
Despite being outnumbered and flying planes not to the
standards of the Japanese Zeroes, Villamor and his flight managed to down three
Japanese planes that day, with the former gunning down a Zero, with no loss to
themselves.
This is no mean feat as the P-26 being flown by Villamor and
his men only have a top speed of 234 miles per hour and armed only with two .30
caliber machine guns compared to the Japanese Zeroes which has a maximum speed
of 350 miles per hour and armed with two 7.7 machines gun and two 20mm cannon.
Villamor's second air kill of the war came in Dec. 12, 1941,
this time his dogfight took place directly over Batangas Field.
Around 54 Japanese planes composed of 54 bombers and 18
fighters were nearing their base at bombing altitude when Villamor and Lt.
Cesar Basa were scrambled.
Using the best speed of their aircraft, the two Filipino
fighter pilots were able to reach the height being flown by the enemy aircraft
and were able to engage them.
Villamor fired his .30 caliber machine guns in short bursts.
To his astonishment, a Nell attack bomber started to smoke,
then descended, then broke up.
Seconds later, the escorting Zeroes were on them from out of
the sun.
Villamor and Basa did all they could to out-fly the enemy
fighter planes to no avail.
This encounter ended up with Basa being shot down by the
Japanese Zeroes.
Although Basa was able to bail out, the victorious Japanese
fighter pilots machine-gunned him, killing the Filipino instantly.
For his actions, Villamor was twice cited by the United
States Army for bravery, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for
actions on Dec. 10, 1941 and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second award of
the DSC for actions on Dec. 12, 1941 making him the only Filipino to receive
the DSC twice.
After his squadron was destroyed, Villamor continued his war
against the Japanese as an intelligence officer.
On Dec. 27, 1942, Villamor was part of a team inserted by
the submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) into the Philippines
Establishing a chain of direct communication from the Philippines with General Douglas MacArthur in Australia , he coordinated the activities of
various guerrilla movements in Luzon, Mindanao
and the Visayas.
Villamor acted as the "clearing house" for
information, which helped the United States Armed Forces in the Far East to map
out a strategy which will eventually liberate the Philippines
For his bravery as a pilot and ingenuity as an intelligence
officer, then Pres. Ramon Magsaysay awarded Villamor the Medal of Valor, the
highest Philippine military bravery decoration, on Jan. 21, 1954.
The Philippine Air Force's principal facility in Metro
Manila, which was first known as Nichols Field then later Nichols Air Base, was
renamed Col. Jesus Villamor Air Base in his honor.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=835930
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